March is Women’s History Month. It is a month to reflect on all the women, past and present, who fought for change and impacted our world.
One woman who is impacting the world of technology right now is Karlie Kloss. You may know Karlie Kloss from hosting the TV show Project Runway or as a Victoria’s Secret angel. However, in 2015 Karlie Kloss founded the non-profit Kode With Klossy to inspire young women, gender nonconforming, and transgender students, ages 13 to 18, to learn how to code, encourage them to seek careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics), and create a safe space for thoughtful and engaging conversations revolving around gender bias in the world and workplace.
Kloss started Kode With Klossy because she noticed that more women needed to be involved with technology. What began as a “passion project” quickly became a program that inspires thousands every summer. Kode With Klossy’s impact started in the United States but now has a global presence. When Kode With Klossy began, it was a free 2-week summer program in a few major cities in the United States. Every year Kode With Klossy continued to grow. When the pandemic hit, Kode With Klossy quickly pivoted to camps held on Zoom. With this transition, Kode With Klossy was now easily accessible to students from all over the map. Camps will continue to be free this upcoming summer, accessible to all. They will be in in-person cities across the United States, virtually for people who do not have access to an in-person camp, and even the first international in-person camp in London!
Students who go through one or all of Kode With Klossy’s programs (website development, mobile development, and data science) come out as confident, inspiring, and ambitious changemakers. Nationally, only 4% of women choose to pursue degrees in computer science or engineering fields. 78% of Kode With Klossy alums in college choose to pursue majors or minors in computer science or engineering. This mind-blowing statistic shows the magnitude of influence Karlie Kloss has created through her non-profit.
As a Kode With Klossy alum and previous instructor assistant for the website development program, I can confidently say that Kode With Klossy impacted my life considerably. I do not know where I would be without it. Through Kode With Klossy, I learned essential coding skills and gained confidence in speaking up for what I believe is right. This past summer, I was an instructional assistant and led conversations with scholars about their experiences being women interested in STEM at their high schools. Scholars were from around the world, including South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Turkey. From these conversations, scholars realized that even though they have different backgrounds and are from different corners of the world, they go through similar experiences as women in tech, often feeling left out and unheard. Kode With Klossy is a powerful way to bring together like-minded individuals and bring an abundance of confidence to them.
A massive part of the Kode With Klossy experience is the “Speaker Series,” when incredible and successful women in technology join the camp session and talk about challenges they have faced in their careers and groundbreaking moments. A few fantastic speakers have been Dara Tresender, Celestine Maddy, and Megan Smith.
Karlie Kloss and the whole Kode With Klossy team are just getting started. I genuinely believe that because of Kode With Klossy and the incredible alums, the gender gap in technology will begin to close, and women will continue to stand up for each other. I cannot wait to see where Kode With Klossy and alums will be in one year, five years, and 20 years.
If you identify as a young woman, gender nonconforming, or transgender student, age 13 to 18, you can apply to Kode With Klossy now! No coding experience is required. You will learn everything at camp! Applications close March 20th at 11:59 PM EST. Apply, apply, apply!
XO Suzanne